TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Christopher Nolan's Interstellar does a great job of keeping the story moving along at a steady and engaging pace. The reason I mention this is because the movie is partially inspired by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey , a film I've tried to watch on many occasions over the years and I still can't tell you how it ends. It just sends me to sleep - every time. If you've also struggled with that film and thought Interstellar, which also tries to depict space travel in a realistic manner, sounds like a difficult proposition then there's no need to be concerned. There's plenty to keep you tuned in and awake. That said, you'll probably get a lot more from this film if you have more than a passing interest in space travel, worm holes, black holes, relativity theory and time travel. Particularly if you're aware of some of the current research.

Roomba's ATTACK!! Ominous image straight from iRobot's site . iRobot's Roomba is pretty much the first mass consumer robot. If iRobot had their way I'm sure their goal is to see at least one of these in every home on the planet.Watch the official product demonstration video for the 780 model below. iRobot's mission statement. Robot Armageddon would certainly be world changing!

"Shhh... I'm hunting lizards." With Australia heading into the summer months Lizard Hunting Season begins. Well at least it does for our dog Oscar who gives them a serious barking tirade whenever he finds one. Australian Blue Tongue lizards are pretty common where I live, specifically the Eastern variety. Because we live a short distance from bushland we get more than our fair share in the back garden and, on a couple of occasions, even in the house.

My one necktie. As a Local Government member, 2003. Almost every time I've headed back to Perth, Western Australia, to visit my family, and have reason to wear a necktie, my Dad comments that I need to learn how to tie a tie correctly. I own only one tie and I taught myself how to tie it. No instructions. I just figured it out all on my own until the knot I tied looked like a necktie knot should look. The thing is I tied my only tie up once and then never untied it. Effectively my Dad has seen the same necktie knot every time he's seen me wear a tie over the last 14 years. So I can't really blame him when he says things like "I see you still don't know how to tie a tie."

I realize my movie review for Guardians of the Galaxy is probably a bit redundant by now as I'm sure anyone planning to see this movie has already seen it. I actually saw it about a week after it was released in Australia so clearly I'm late with blogging my reaction. However I was excited for the movie's release, I did enjoy it and, I'm only late because, well... life happens. So here goes... I had been looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy since Marvel first announced the film, not because I was a fan of the comics, or even knew there was such a comic. No, the thing that I wanted to see was a talking Raccoon with a thing for big guns. It's a character that sounds just a bit silly but has the potential to be awesome in a live action film and the final movie does not disappoint.

One of my Facebook friends shared the video below on their timeline. It's a response by Religious Scholar, Reza Aslan to commentary by Comedian, Bill Maher, on the violence and oppression that goes on in 'Muslim Countries'. Aslan makes makes a point about how the media's sweeping generalizations aren't helpful when referring to Muslim extremist groups and individuals within them, citing that all 'Muslim Countries' are not the same and shouldn't be viewed in the same light. He also points out that some of the issues commonly associated with 'Muslim Countries' are actually more of an issue in 'Christian Countries'. Watch the video. It may just help you think differently about all religions. I think the point Aslan makes that resonates the most with me is that most religions aren't violent or peaceful. It's what the people who follow them bring to it that determines how that religion and their specific group is perceived. F...

Over the past month I've collected a few articles that I've been meaning to report on that clearly demonstrate the rise and rise of the machines which began with a rogue juicer , moved on to robot floor cleaners with internet access and their army of quadroters mounted with lasers. The following things are all real and I'm sure if you attached lasers to any one of them the floor cleaning robots would put out the signal for your internet connect fridge to begin attacking our food source by turning up the thermostat. It's all part of the plan...